For a show about outer-space robots, Battlestar Galactica is really about what it means to be human. Empathy, betrayal, morality, justice, faith, vengeance and forgiveness have all played out on an interstellar stage as the last remnants of humanity flee their destroyed worlds and Cylon pursuers close in to exterminate them.

Batman, The Hulk and other superheroes were celebrated at New York Comic Con over the weekend, where blockbuster movie previews and celebrity cameos almost eclipsed the books. Thousands of fans, some in costume, flocked to the Javits Center for the event. USA TODAY's Whitney Matheson hits some of the highlights:

Bryan Adams has recorded 11 songs for his 11th album of original material, a collection he just promoted during an 11-day, 11-country promotional tour in Europe. The new disc, recorded in hotel rooms and backstage at venues over the past two years, is called (big surprise) 11. His first studio release in four years arrives May 13 and will be sold exclusively at Wal-Mart. The Canadian singer produced nine songs and co-produced first single I Thought I'd Seen Everything and We Found What We Were Looking For with Mutt Lange. In addition to selling 65 million albums since his 1980 debut, Adams has built a reputation as a photographer. He recently shot the 2008 Guess ad campaign. Watch for summer tour dates.

The 10-week-old writers' strike is accelerating a once unheard-of practice: the migration of cable repeats to the major networks. NBC plans full seasons of sibling USA Network series Monk and Psych starting March 2, Sundays at 8 and 9 ET/PT, and CBS will air Showtime's dark drama Dexter Sundays at 10 beginning Feb. 17. Law & Order: Criminal Intent, which moved to USA last fall, popped up in reruns on NBC last week, Wednesdays at 9.